Architosh has awarded BEST of SHOW honors for the past six out of seven years to the most noteworthy software and hardware technology companies attending and exhibiting at the annual American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Convention and Exhibition, held in late spring or early summer each year in the United States.
In some cases, our honors—debated and defined by editors Anthony Frausto-Robledo and Pete Evans—go to trusted long-term innovators who are pushing the technology envelope with best-in-breed technology. In other cases our BEST of SHOW honors go to brand new emerging apps and companies that have not yet been recognized as technology “standouts” in their field—in several cases called out winners become merger and acquisition (M&A) targets within a year or two by a major software company.
Honors have gone to Sefaira, PlanGrid and Gehry Technologies’ Connect (CDE) solution—all companies and technologies acquired in total for over $1 billion USD by some of the biggest tech names in the industry—years before they were acquired or established critical market share.
Below you will find a list of all past winners with direct URL links for your convenience.
Purpose of the Awards
The purpose of the BEST of SHOW honors is not to single out future technology acquisitions but rather singularly to draw attention to the products and companies which have exhibited technology innovation and leadership within the Architectural market as measured by show interest, attendance, buzz, and a forward-looking analytic “perspective” developed by the editors of Architosh. This perspective is a constructed and developing lens through which technology in the architectural market is measured against both static and dynamic criteria with a particular single aim of clarifying, developing, enhancing and ensuring the social value of architects working worldwide in the 21st century.
Long-range, we intend to continue the development of our thesis (or lens) behind our BEST of SHOW honors. Thus far we have communicated our vision in a series of “perspectives” articles highlighted by years below, initially focusing on three key areas impacting the architectural digital tools landscape:
- Social and Democratization of IT
- Computational Power and the Cloud
- Creativity and the Contemplative Pace
Here are our BEST of SHOW Perspectives articles by year:
- 2013 — we identified the waning relevancy of “design intent” as legal concepts in the architectural world as architects move towards becoming “fabricators,” et cetera.
- 2014 — we detail Yale professor and architect Phil Bernstein’s long-view of AEC from the “era of documentation to the era of BIM to the era of context.” This “context” era is about integrating simulation and validation into architectural practice using new tools and methods.
- 2015 — we noted four inter-connected trends at this year’s show: (1) game-ification of architecture, (2) rise of VR, (3) hacking culture and Maker Movement, and (4) APFD (accessible programming for designers), visual scripting and computational design.
- 2016 — On top of our three key areas noted above, we layered in the Gartner Hype-cycle adding “temporal” context for innovations, introducing terms and concepts of our analysis like “edge-of-reality” and “edge-of-market” to help clarify tech adoption cycles.
- 2018 — we stepped back and looked at AEC digital technology innovation through the vast lens of famed economic and technology historian Carlota Perez—placing and stretching the temporal dynamics of the Hype-cycle within her Techno-Economic Paradigms (TEPs) theory model.
As we move forward with the BEST of SHOW honors program we invite dialog with our readers about the focus of our efforts. What follows is a listing of the past winners of the BEST of SHOW honors program.
BEST of Show Honorees
2022 AIA
Bear with us as we update this list today.
Emergent Technology Category—BEST of SHOW
Innovation Category—BEST of SHOW
- SketchUp 2022 (ecosystem)
- Spaces
BIM Category—BEST of SHOW
Cloud Category—BEST of SHOW
Visualization Category—BEST of SHOW
The companies listed above are welcome to copy and republish the digital plaque shown on the feature page covering the award nod details.
BEST of Show Honorees
2019 AIA
Emergent Technology Winner—BEST of SHOW
Innovation Category—BEST of SHOW
- Unity Reflect (related to Autodesk)
- Archicad 23
- BIMx
BIM Category—BEST of SHOW
Mobile+Cloud+Web
The companies listed above are welcome to copy and republish the digital plaque shown on the feature page covering the award nod details.
BEST of SHOW Honorees
2018 AIA
Emergent Technology Winner—BEST of SHOW
- no winners in this category were announced this year.
Innovation Category Winner—BEST of SHOW
BIM Category Winner(s)—BEST of SHOW
Mobile+Cloud+Web Category Winner(s)—BEST of SHOW
The companies listed above are welcome to copy and republish the digital plaque shown below for their specific winning category.
BEST of SHOW AIA 2018 – Innovation Category.
BEST of SHOW AIA 2018 – BIM Category.
BEST of SHOW 2018 AIA Mobile+Cloud+Web category winner.
Architosh BEST of SHOW 2018 AIA Technology Winner.
Refer to our AIA feature report on the winners and honorable mentions for 2018 BEST of SHOW to gain more information.
2017 AIA
Architosh did not attend AIA 2017 in New Orleans and thus did not honor BEST of SHOW technology attendees.
2016 AIA
Emergent Technology Winner—BEST of SHOW
Innovation Category Winner(s)—BEST of SHOW
BIM Category Winner(s)
- Autodesk with AIA for DDx System (Design Data Exchange for AIA 2030 Commitment)
- Dodge Sweets App for Revit and AutoCAD
Desktop Category Winner(s)
Mobile Category Winner(s)
The companies listed above are welcome to copy and republish the digital plaque shown below for their specific winning category.
2016 BEST of SHOW – Emergent Category
2016 BEST of SHOW – Innovation Category
2016 BEST of SHOW – BIM Category
2016 BEST of SHOW – Desktop Category
2016 BEST of SHOW – Mobile Category
Refer to our AIA feature report on the winners and honorable mentions for 2016 BEST of SHOW to gain more information.
2015 AIA
Innovation Category Winner(s)—BEST of SHOW
BIM Category Winner(s)—BEST of SHOW
Mobile Category Winner(s)—BEST of SHOW
Desktop Category Winner(s)—BEST of SHOW
The companies listed above are welcome to copy and republish the digital plaque shown below for their specific winning category.
BEST of SHOW AIA 2015 – Innovation Category
BEST of SHOW AIA 2015 – BIM Category
BEST of SHOW AIA 2015 – Mobile Category
BEST of SHOW AIA 2015 – Desktop Category
Refer to our AIA feature report on the winners and honorable mentions for 2015 BEST of SHOW to gain more information.
2014 AIA
Desktop Category Winner(s)—BEST of SHOW
Mobile Category Winner(s)—BEST of SHOW
BIM Category Winner(s)—BEST of SHOW
Innovation Category—BEST of SHOW
The companies listed above are welcome to copy and republish the digital plaque show below for their specific winning category.
BEST of SHOW 2014 AIA – Desktop category.
BEST of SHOW 2014 AIA -Mobile category.
BEST of SHOW 2014 AIA – BIM category.
BEST of SHOW 2014 AIA – Innovation category.
Refer to our AIA feature report on the winners and honorable mentions for 2014 BEST of SHOW to gain more information.
2013 AIA
Desktop Category Winner(s)—BEST of SHOW
Mobile Category Winner(s)—BEST of SHOW
BIM Category Winner(s)—BEST of SHOW
The companies listed above are welcome to copy and republish the digital plaque show below for their specific winning category.
BEST of SHOW 2013 AIA – Desktop category.
BEST of SHOW 2013 AIA – Mobile category.
BEST of SHOW 2013 AIA – BIM category
Refer to our AIA feature report on the winners and honorable mentions for 2013 BEST of SHOW to gain more information.
2012 AIA
Desktop Category Winner(s)—BEST of SHOW
Mobile Category Winner(s)—BEST of SHOW
The companies listed above are welcome to copy and republish the digital plaque show below for their specific winning category.
BEST of SHOW 2012 AIA – Desktop category.
BEST of SHOW 2012 AIA – Mobile category.
Refer to our AIA feature report on the winners and honorable mentions for 2012 BEST of SHOW to gain more information.
Update Log
23 Feb 2019